Mental illness is prevalent worldwide, yet for the most part, ongoing mass shootings are uniquely American. Our nation has a long history of violence as a means for solutions. Combine this with a passionate love of guns, and based on shootings and deaths, these define who we are. The passions and priorities need to be confronted.

It’s not people outside the border who present our gravest danger, it’s those within. Mass killings will remain a part of the American consciousness and reality as long as our actions as a nation do not evolve.